Ironing machine



Jan. 3, 1933. R. N. wEs-T' 1,893,190

momma MACHINE Filed Oct; 10. 1930 '3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 3, 1933. R. N. WEST IRONING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 10. 1930 Patented Jan. 3, 1933 PATENT OFFICE ROBERT N. WEST, OF MAPLEWOGD, NEW JERSEY I IRONING MACHINE Application filed October 10, 1930. Serial No. 487,764.

This invention relates to the combination press and ironing 'machine, particularly adapted for use in laundries and clothes pressing establishments, and has for itsprincipal objects the provision of a unitary mach-me which is compact, relatively inexpensive to construct, and which can be quickly convert- 4 ed from a reciprocating press into a rotary ironer, besides having other advantages hereinafter set forth. L i v In the accompanying drawings in which I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my improved mechanism t Figure 1 is an end elevation partly in see- Fig. 2 is a longitudinal elevation partly broken away of such mechanism;

Fig. '3 is an end elevation and Fig. 4 a side elevation of a modification.

Referring to the drawings and the construction shown therein, the reference numeral 1 designates the vertical (and frames which are adapted to be suitably secured to a base or support, said frames being flanged,

as indicated by the reference numeral 2, at their upper ends, and-the lower part of said frames having integral web supports 3 and 4 respectively. A steam chest 5, having inte- 'gral terminal flanges 6, which are adapted to span said frames, is provided with a steam inlet 7 and an outlet 8 respectively and is bolted to said side frames by means of bolts 10.

Said side frames are provided with a central yoke member'll and said web 3 is provided with recesses 12 for the reception of coil springs 13. The central drum carrying shaft 14 is mounted in the pillow blocks 15 which are elastically supported by said springs 13 and which-blocks are provided with anti-friction self-alining bearings 16. Said pillow blocksare provided with cylindrical recesses 17 "into wh ch pins 18 are driven to a tight fit,

said pins being adapted to project through machined holes .19 in the web 3 and to engage plungers 20 which project from the pressure cylinders '21 and are carriedgby piston members 22. Said cylinders'are-provided with conduits 23 which serve to admit fluid under pressure beneaththe bottom of said pistonlmembers in the well known manner,

said pressure cylinders being mounted on the web 4 by means of cap screws 24. The said web 4 is preferably provided with cored clearance holes 25 which permit of the drilling and finishing of the apertures 19 during the finishing of the machine.

Pressure adjusting screws 26, which carry lock nuts 27, serve as stops for limiting u ward movement of the shaft 14 when t e fluid pressure is applied to the pistons 22 and 00 thereby the amount of free space immediately beneath the hot surface 5a of the steam chest is determined. Such shaft is provided with collars 28, which are fixed thereto and serve as guides to prevent longitudinal movement of said shaft 14 with respect to the side frames 1. Said shaft is also provided with spacing collars 29 which-are keyed thereto by means of a key 30; which collars function as hereinafter described. Index plates 31 are rigidly mounted on'the outer ends of said shaft, the same being provided with index holes 32 which are adapted to receive the outer end of index pins 33 carried by said frames 1 and Y 7 springs 34 serve to normally project the end of said pin 33 into a recess 32 when in register therewith, sa d indexing means, comprising the pin and plate, serving to predetermine the position of a drum 35 carried by said shaft. Said drum 35 is provided with a plurality of plate-like partitions 36, which carry a pluralty of plate segments 36a and as indicated, said plates 36 are cut away to form V-shaped recesses 36!) between adjacent plate segments. Each of said plate segments is provided with segment plates 37 which are mounted on brackets 38 and are provided with pads 39,said brackets being secured by means of rivets to said plates 36.

In the modified construction shown in Fi 's. 3 and 4. the steam chest 5 is adapted to B vertically reciprocated' with res ect to the drum carrying the pads 39, and in this construction, opposing plungers 20' which arecarried by piston members (not shown) with-" inthe pressure cylinders 21' that are mounted on the top of the pillow blocks 15",project upwardly through lugs 45 which are integral with and extend from the opposite ends of such steam chest, said plungers having a slidto'elevate the chest and can then be admitted,-

if desired, above said piston to positively depress such chest, or if desired, the chest can be allowed to return by gravity to its lowermost position when the pressure through the lower intake conduit 23" is released.

The operation of the above described machine when employed the same as a press is as follows The operative places the article to be pressed, for example, a shirt on the pad 39 which is immediately in advance of the chest 5, and which if desired may be suitably equipped with a neck band clamp and shirt-- tail clamp as is at present common practice when presslng shirts. and the drum is' then caused to rotate through a partial revolution until the same is immediately below the chest 5 and the index pin is in engagement with the appropriate index hole corresponding to such position. The steam having first been admitted to the chest 5 through the inlet 6, the shaft 14 carrying said drum 35 is then vertically elevated, in the well known manner, by admitted fluid under pressure beneath the pistons 22 .and thereby the buck 39 is forced into pressure contact with the lower surface 5a of the steam chest, such contact being maintained for the desired interval required to effect the proper pressing of the said article. Thereupon the applied pressure on the piston 22 is released and the drum 35 will recede to itsoriginal level as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. The drum 35 is then further rotated until the next preceding buck or segment on'which another shirt has been placed. is indexed beneath the chest whereupon the buck carrying the pressed article will have advanced to the position indicated by the buck immediately beyond or to the right side of the chest 5 (see Fig. 1). Another operative then removes the pressed article while the first mentioned operative is placing still another article to be pressed on the buck which'is now immediately in'ad-.

vance of the chest and, if such article requires further finishing, the second operative performs such supplemental operation on a conveniently adjacent machine, while thefirst operative is placing another article on the buck which is in advance of the chest and while such latter article is being pressed.

Where it is desired to operate the machine as a'sma'll piece flat-work, rotary ironer, the

sired speed while one operative shaft 14 is first vertically elevated, as above described, to bring the bucklocated'immediately beneath the steam chest into pressure engagement therewith and then the drum 35 is continuously rotated at the delaces an article to be ironed, such as a ban kerchief, napkin or the like,on the buck which is immediately and entirely in advance of the steam chest (see Fig. 1) whence it is drawn beneath and across the main lower surface 5a of the steam heated chest. As it issues from the chest and the buck carr ing the same reaches the position of the hue at the right of the chest (see Fig. 1), the second operative removes the same from the buck earryin it and inspects and folds the same. Meanw 'le the first operative is placing the second article to bepressed on. the buck which is immediately in advance of the steam chest (see Fig. 1)

and thereby the articles are successively in-- serted and removed by the respective operatives without stopping the operation of the machine. Obviously, however, the shaft 14 is maintained continuously in it's elevated position and the fluid pressure" sufficient for the ironing operation is continuously applied thereto throughout the ironing operation and such shaft is not alternately raised and lowered as when'the machine is employed as an intermittent press.

My improved machine, which has a plural ity of bucks, which co-o erate with a common steam chest, as distinguished from the single buck now commonly employed on presses, eliminates the necessity of heatin the bucks to drive ofl moisture as steam an thereby ventilate the same,- since each buck after issuing from beneath the steam chest has ample time to be ventilated naturally before it again reaches the position to receive an article to be pressed. Furthermore, with my improved press, the faces and bodies of the operatives are protected against the excessive heat which ordinarily radiates from an open press as the articles are being introduced thereinto, since the operative applies the goods to be pressed on the surface of a buck which has cooled to practically the room temperature. Furthermore since the operative who feeds the articles to the ress is not required to place the hands in c ose proximity to a hinged chest adjacent the hinge portion thereof, as is now necessary in him ed presses of the types now commonly em loyed, any possibility of searin the flesh of the wrists,

ands or fingers w ile arranging the articles on the buck, preparatory to pressing the same, is eliminated. As a consequence of this effective protection of the operatives face, body and hands from 'the excessive heat radiated by the opened chest, the output of the machine can be materially increased as compared with the present types of presses, since not only is it possible to employ a steam chest are disposed at an angle of 45 to the horizontal, the operative can more readily and better judge as to whether the same is properly arranged on said pads than were the same disposed on the horizontal surface. Again the fact that the top surface of the pads and the bottom surface of the chest are concentrically projected on the drum carrying the same, the machine readily lends itself to be'converted from a press to a rotaryironer.

If desired, a single operative may feed the articles to be pressed or ironed to the mach ne and may also remove the same when such pressing or ironing is completed, -it being merely necessary in such cases, to periodically,

reverse the rotation of the drum n order to return the pad carrying the articles which have been pressed or ironed to their original position in front of the operative.

The foregoing machine mav behand operated or power operated and either hydraulic,

pneumatic, mechanical or electrical means may be employed for elevating and depressing the pads on the steam chest. VVhempower operated, the drum is ordinarily rotated and, if interm ttent rotation of the drum is desired then and the power is applied only long enough to allow the drum to rotate almost to the desired location controlled by the index pin 33, whereupon the poweris automatically turned off in the wellknown manner and consequently as the spring pressed pin 33 enters the recess 32, the drumwill be automatically stopped in the index position. Upon the power being similarly again applied, the force exerted thereby w ll be sufficient to force the pin 33 out of the recess 32 and allow a similar further partial rotation to the next indexing position. If continuous operat on is desired, either the power applied is sufiicient to prevent the stoppage o the drum by the index pin 33, owing to the fact that immediately upon entering the recess 32, it .is aga n forced out of thesame no or else, if desired, the index oins may be removed for the purpose of such operation. No

claim is made herein for the means for intermittently operating the shaft, as such means are well known in the'art. 65.

ironer illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 is substantially identical with that-shown in Figs. 1 and 2, exce t that the steam chest 5 is depressed or e evated in lieu of elevating or depressing the drum of the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The respective edges w, w of the steam chest and 3 y the pads are beveled, preferably on an arc, so as to form an inwardly converging or wedge-like entrance orifice for the entering edge of the article arranged on the receiving pad whereby when the machine is o erated. as a rotary ironer, such articles on t e pad will not be dsplaced as it enters into the space beneath the steam chest and once it has entered such space. the frictional engagement of the moving pad and lower surface of the steam chest therewith will prevent displacement of such article during the ironng thereof.

While I have disclosed herein an arranges lncnt wherein six bucks are peripherally disposed at equi-spaced intervals around the drum,as by such construction as it will-be noted, the major portionof anwadvancing buck immediately precedin "the particular buck which is located beneat the steam chest when the rotation of the drum ceases, will lie within the angle formed between a. horizontal and a vertical lane which intersects said axis, thereby as is evidenced from the inspection of Fig. 3, such advancin" buck to which the work is o be applied'ls presented to the operative nthe convenient position for the laying of t e work thereon, since notonly is every porti n of the work so applied to the buck within observation of, the operative while standing erect, and thereby any wrinkles or folds can be smoothed out before the buck moves into position beneath the steam chest, but such buck is in a convenient position to permit of the operative arranging and smoothing out the article so applied to the buck, whereas were but four bucks-employed, the buck immediately in advance of the one beneath the steam chest would be disposed one-half above and onehalf'below a horizontal plane through the shaft of the drum and it would be extremely the ironed goods from the buck which is immediately beyond the one that is located beneath-the steam chest, but before removing the same, can observe-every portion thereof 1n order to ascertam whether any touching ,up with an electric sad iron is necessary,

whereupon such portions can then be conveniently manually touched up or so ironed.

\Vhile I preferably employ the arrange-- ment whereby six bucks are hexagonally dis-.

5 posed around a drum or support any other number ofbuclcs in excess of four, whereby a pad is so disposed that the major portion thereof is within the angle lying between a horizontal plane and a vertical plane inter-- sorting the axis of the shaft of the drum or support may be employed without departing from the spirit of myinvention as embodied within the scope of -the appended different bucks, whereby one of such operatives can lay an article to be pressed on one of said bucks while the other of such operatives is removing a pressed article from another of said bucks, a steam chest mounted adjacent said support, means for mechanically stopping each buck temporarily in registration with said steam chest when the Same is brought into position beneath the same and means for effecting pressure engagement between the chest aud an article to be pressed while the latter is positioned on a buck so brought into registration with said chest.

' 2. In a machine for pressing clothes, the combination comprising a rotatable buckcarrying support, a plurality of bucks peripherally disposed at intervals around the same, the pressing surfaces of the adjacent bucks extending at an angle to each other, a'

steam chest associated with said buck and mounted in proximity thereto, a plurality of said bucks being so disposed as to afford unobstructed access 'to different bucks simultaneously by two different operatives, whereby one of such'operatives can lay an article to 'be pressed on one of said buckswhile the other of such operatives is removing a pressed article from another of said bucks, means for efi'ecting reciprocation of said steam chest into and out of, pressing enga ement with each buck as it is successively rou ht into position beneath the same and ocating mechanism for indexing each buck in registration with said chest as: it comes into position beneath the same; f

3. In a machine for pressing clothes, the combination comprising a rotatable padcarrying support, padded means peripherally disposed thereon and associated with a-heat the surfaces of said padding means extending concentrically of the axis of said support locating mechanism for indexing an article to be pressedcarried by said padded means in registration with said chest when brought beneath the same, said padded means bein exposed so as to admit of unobstructed an simultaneous access of two different operatives to unpressed and pressed goods carried thereby, whereby one of such operatives can lay an article to be pressed on one portion of said padded means while the other of such operatives is removing a pressed article from another portion of said padded means and means for bringing said chest and an article carried by said padded means into pressing engagement when such article and such chest are in registration and said padded means is stationary.

4. In a machine for pressing cloth, the combination comprising a pad-carrying support rotatable about a horizontal axis andhaving a series of pads, in excess of four, peripherally disposed thereon, the number. of pads being such that when said support has carried one of said pads to its uppermost position, the major portion of another pad lies within the angle formed between a horizontal and a vertical plane which intersects said axis and at least two of said pads being exposed so as to permit of simultaneous and unobstructed access of two operatives respectively to different, pads, an associated steam chest, means for stopping each pad in registration with said chest as it is brought into a position beneath the same and means for effecting relative movement of the chest and a pad in register therewith towards each other to effect pressing engagement therebetween.

5. In a clothes ress, the combination comprising a rotata le drum,a series of.six

padded buck members peripherally disposed at substantially equal intervals on said drum,

the pressing surface of said pad members being concentric with the drum and at least two of said pads being exposed so as to permit of simultaneous and unobstructed access of two operatives respectively to different pads,-a steam chest mounted beyond the periphery of said drum and in proximity thereto, means for stopping each buck member in registration with said chest as the former is brought into a position beneath said chest and means for effecting movement of said chest towards and from a buck when the latter is in registration therewith.

Signed at New York, in the city, county and sgate of New York, this 9th day of October 1 30.

ROBERT N. WEST.

chest mounted in proximity to said support, 

